Feast of the Lord

          Last Sunday we had Communion at our church and I always enjoy that special time.  And our pastor used some interesting language as he introduced our time of Communion.  He read from the regular passages in the Bible, but when he came to blessing the cup and the bread, he spoke of it as "the Lord's Feast."  For some reason that phrase struck me as odd - to say "the Feast of the Lord" sounds, well, like a full sumptuous fare... a feast sounds like a big banquet, a full spread of the finest of meats and breads and wine... a smorgasbord of absolutely everything and anything you'd want to sample:  abundant, overflowing, more than enough food.

            It's a little like the Sunday buffet Ken and I went to earlier this year up at a fancy hotel in Santa Barbara.  That was an all-day feast!  I mean, every kind of meat and fish and chicken and vegetable and potato and cheese and sushi and satay and bacon and egg and waffle and omelet and fruit and pie and custard.  It was too much, way too much!  That's what we think of when we hear the word feast.

            Contrast that with the small piece of bread or wafer that you hold in your hand on Communion Sunday... and the tiny cup of juice or wine... barely enough to swallow.  A petite wafer that almost melts in your mouth.  The elements are so small; it sure doesn't look like a feast - at least not the kind I just talked about.  But when you think about it, it's a great way to describe Communion.  Why?  Because Communion is a means of grace - when we come to Him in humility, acknowledging our sins and looking to Him for help, He imparts at feast of strength and spiritual life... and it's more than enough. 

            Because when Christ offered Himself as our Passover, He poured out His mercy abundant and overflowing.  It is a banquet of grace, a buffet where you can find joy, peace, kindness, goodness and gentleness and self-control and contentment and so much more.  When Jesus gave Himself, He gave absolutely everything - there was no more He could give.  And this is what we should think of when we hear Communion described as the feast of the Lord.  When you taste of that cup and eat of that bread, you are acknowledging all that His death and resurrection means - we feed on Him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving, as my old Book of Common Prayer says. 

            First Corinthians 5:7-8 says, "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:  Therefore let us keep the feast..."  Friend, sometime this month or next you'll probably be celebrating the Lord's Supper... or Holy Communion, if that's what you call it... whatever. Jesus Christ paid a high price for this buffet of heavenly blessing.  So feed on Him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving... eat and drink deeply and keep that sumptuous Feast of His grace. 

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